Archive: IMCOM

Hundreds showed up for the annual Springfield Community Bridge Walk Tuesday. The bridge walk, which honors those who lost their lives during 9/11, ended with the signing of the Army Community Covenant by military officials.

When Tony continued to decline in the wake of surgery, he was sent to a neurologist. Other conditions and injuries were gradually ruled out, and he was officially diagnosed with ALS in December 2011.
"That's when our whole world was turned upside down," said Alma.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the connector road, Jeff Todd Way, was Monday at the intersection of Jeff Todd Way and Pole Road. The road, which connects Route 1 and Telegraph Road, officially opened Aug. 19, although construction will not be completed until November.
The road was named after Jeff Todd, a businessman with three Roy Rogers restaurants in the Mount Vernon and Lee areas, who died in 2011. His wife, Becky Todd, and several family members attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Fort Belvoir Equal Opportunity Office celebrated the 94th anniversary of Congress passing the Women's Suffrage Amendment during its Women's Equality Day observance at the Community Center, Tuesday.
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified by Congress Aug. 18, 1920, guaranteeing all female citizens the right to vote.

Fort Belvoir military spouse, Stephanie Rowell, was one of many to secure a spot at the popular Hearts Apart Meet and Greet, Aug. 20, at the Exchange.
The Relocation Assistance Program's meet and greet, hosted by RELO marketing volunteer Malynda Echols and April Burns, Relocation Assistance Program coordinator, allowed 20 people the chance to receive free haircuts, makeovers, food and beverages.

As technology continues to evolve, it becomes easier for non-traditional students to fulfill their dreams of obtaining a college education. Though the methods of earning a degree have changed, the time-honored tradition of a graduation ceremony has not. And while the cap and gown is not the motivating force behind years of classes and homework, many see it as a proud punctuation mark at the end of one of life's important chapters.

The Office of the Judge Advocate General is citing regulations which prohibit servicemembers and Department of Defense civilians from endorsing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in any form of their military uniform or during official work hours.
Though well-intentioned, these actions endorse a non-federal entity which is impermissible.

Most American's know that when behind the wheel drivers must place 100 percent of their attention on the road, but according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration distracted driving is now the leading cause of car accidents in the United States.

Since his arrival at Fort Rucker, the French liaison officer has embraced its Soldiers, Families, civilians and surrounding communities with enthusiasm. Now, this distinguished officer has arranged to conduct a free French language and culture class at the post.

The Exceptional Family Member Program is identifying active duty military Families with special needs. Special needs can include physical, intellectual, developmental delays, emotional impairments that require special treatment, therapy, education, training or counseling.

Hunters, fishers and trappers who use Fort A.P. Hill will soon be able to buy a permit and check-in and out of areas on their home computers or smart phones thanks to a new web-based program called iSportsman.
The new system will be activated on Tuesday Sept. 2.

A handful of Soldiers graduating this week had enlisted through the Army's split option program, which allowed them to take part in Basic Combat Training during the summer break between their junior and senior years of high school.

Soldiers, civilians and spouses of U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach, Germany, took part in the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program's Executive Resilience and Performance Course at the Von Steuben Community Center, Aug. 18, 2014.

A Cooperative Agreement recently established by the Edgewood Division of the Army Contracting Command -- Aberdeen Proving Ground will create collaboration and synergy for minority serving institutions, according to the agreement vision statement.

Members of the local clergy and post chaplains gathered Aug. 19, 2014, at the Fort Jackson Officers' Club to learn about on- and off-post resources available to service members who worship at local churches.

For the fourth year, Fort Jackson Survivor Outreach Services hosted its annual Run for the Fallen. The 5K run/walk aims to commemorate the service members who have died since Sept. 11, 2001 while on active duty.

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- Through a confluence of events, Benjamin Bederson, who was drafted into the Army in 1942, had a front-seat view of the top secret effort to develop the first atomic bomb during World War II.
Bederson, a resident of the New York City borough of Manhattan, had two and a half years of college physics at the time he was drafted.
The Army then sent him to Ohio State University to study electrical engineering as part of a program to teach technical skills to Soldiers for modern warfare.

WATERVLIET ARSENAL, N.Y. -- The Senior Enlisted Advisor for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service visited the Watervliet Arsenal today.
During his visit, Chief Master Sgt. Anthony "Tony" Pearson toured Exchange facilities and talked with Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians about how the Exchange can better serve them.

Volunteers took time from their weekends to assist with free physicals for uninsured children Saturday at the South County Health Department in Alexandria, Va. The event allows children to get the physicals they need before the school year begins.
The children received a physical and got their blood pressure, hearing and vision checked, as well as their height and weight. At the end the children received free supplies, books and bicycle helmets.

There was very little waiting for those who used the DMV 2 Go services Friday and Saturday at Fort Belvoir. The mobile vehicle makes quarterly trips to the post and provides a one-stop shop for those looking to skip the lines.
Lori Wallace, a military spouse, who sold her car to her 22-year-old son, Cody Wallace, said it was her first time using the service. She loved the convenience, which allowed Cody to quickly change the title and registration for his new car.

The Fort Belvoir Equal Opportunity Office will celebrate the 94th anniversary of Congress passing the Women's Suffrage Amendment during its Women's Equality Day observance at the Community Center, Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified by Congress Aug. 18, 1920, guaranteeing all American women the right to vote.

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- After an absence of a little over a year, Maj. Gen. Kevin O'Connell has returned to Rock Island Arsenal with another star on his shoulder and a new assignment: Leading a global organization responsible for sustaining Army and joint forces in support of combatant commanders.

From Vietnam's Army greens to World War II's combat khaki, Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) dressed in era-appropriate military attire to rehearse for Spirit of America, one of the Army's largest community outreach programs designed to increase awareness of the Army's rich heritage.

At the end of every summer at U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach, many different garrison organizations and services assemble for the community showcase. This year the event is scheduled to take place at Urlas Housing Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler III emphasized professionalism during a visit with enlisted Soldiers assigned to the Army National Guard Readiness Center,in Arlington, Virginia, and surrounding installations, Aug. 15, 2014.

FORT POLK, La. -- During the early morning hours of Aug 18, 1973 a Chinook helicopter carrying 37 American Soldiers crashed near Pegnitz, Germany, just off the autobahn north of Nuremberg, Germany. The Soldiers were on their way to the Grafenwoehr Training Area, the largest training area in Europe, to conduct a live fire training exercise.

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea -- In a third-floor classroom, a handful of mortuary affairs and unit supply specialists wait to begin a slideshow. The phrase 'death by PowerPoint' sarcastically bounces its way around. When Sgt. 1st class Adan Flores wakes up his computer to start the presentation, the mood changes. The first slide is a photo focused on a flag-draped casket secured in an aircraft. The casket is lit by daylight, with several others behind it cloaked in shadow.

CAMP CASEY, South Korea -- As Soldiers and senior leaders trickle into the Commander's Cup awards ceremony Aug. 4, at Carey Physical Fitness Center on Camp Casey, South Korea, they were greeted by the 2nd Infantry Division band as they warmed up to play the Star Spangled Banner and Aegukga, the Republic of Korea's national anthem.

GANEUNG, South Korea-- Working along with volunteers from Camp Stanley and Camp Red Cloud, South Korea, the 1st "Steel" Battalion, 38th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, liaison team volunteered at a local soup kitchen near Uijongbu, South Korea.

CAMP CASEY, South Korea -- In a sea of digital camouflage, it can be difficult to imagine the fashion sense that a Soldier's personality will embody when out of uniform. There are websites and blogs dedicated to jokingly dismantle off duty military couture.

CAMP CASEY, South Korea -- The smell of love is in the air! Wait, that's just oil.
Whether on the Korean peninsula or in the states, Mondays mean getting under the hood of your assigned military vehicle, and performing operator preventative maintenance checks and services (PMCS).

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - A free golf clinic hosted by Professional Golfer's Association (PGA) professional and New Jersey native, Morgan Hoffmann, was held Aug.18 on Picatinny Arsenal's golf course just days before he plays at the Barclays Tournament in Paramus, N.J.
Hoffmann was joined by Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia. The two visited the arsenal as part of the PGA Tour, Birdies for the Brave, a national military outreach initiative dedicated to honoring the courageous men and women of the United States Armed Forces and their families.

HARKER HEIGHTS, Texas -- The son of a First Army Division West battalion commander here answered a phone call accepting him into the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Smiles were all around the Duvall household as the call made William E. Duvall V the fourth generation of his family to serve in the military.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - About five years ago, APG Directorate of Emergency Services Police Officer Charles Volz was relaxing in his backyard in Edgewood when he spotted a bald eagle sailing through the air near a creek. Immediately, he ran into his house and grabbed a pair of binoculars.

After nearly a year away from home in support of Area Support Group-Qatar, Soldiers from the Law Enforcement Detachment, 57th Military Police Company, 728th Military Police Battalion, 8th Military Police Brigade, were welcomed home by friends and family members, Aug. 16, at the company's training area on Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Army Under Secretary Brad R. Carson hosted a two-day session at the Pentagon last month, which was meant to help shape policy changes regarding how the Army hires, trains, develops, and sustains its civilian workforce.

Three Fort Drum, New York, spouses will have an opportunity to show what they are made of from the confines of a pink camouflage food truck starting at 9 p.m. EDT, Aug. 17, 2014, on Food Network's Great Food Truck Race.

In President Barack Obama's January 2009 Inaugural Address, he spoke some about those who have made America great. And if the president ever visited Watervliet, he would not need to change his speech because the arsenal has a rich history of risk-takers, doers, makers of things, and especially, those obscure men and women who have not settled for anything less than greatness.

Shock waves from battlefield explosions are invisible threats for U.S. Soldiers and their top-of-the-line combat helmets, but with new studies in synthetic human physiology, researchers are learning how to lessen blast wave effects on the brain.

FORT MCCOY, Wis. -- As many as 4,000 Soldiers and support personnel are at Fort McCoy participating in the Exportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) rotation, which began July 25 and runs through Aug. 16.
The Army National Guard's XCTC program provides participants with an experience similar to an Army combat training center (CTC) at home station or at a regional training center such as Fort McCoy. It also minimizes cost and time away from home and jobs for Guard personnel.

Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment Katherine Hammack (seated, right) is briefed by Fort McCoy staff and leadership Aug. 5 as part of a one-day visit to the Wisconsin installation.

Ten Congressional staff members who serve with representatives from Illinois, North Carolina, Florida and Oregon visited Fort McCoy, Wis., to learn more about the Army and military operations, overall.

Thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR), researchers are safely catching sturgeon, inserting sonic transmitters inside them, and releasing them back into the river.

Patrick Kabuye, sports and fitness coordinator with U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach's Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, graduated earlier this summer from the Advanced Course of the Army Management Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Kabuye has since brough back his insight to improve USAG Ansbach.

Professionals from industries as diverse as deep water drilling to ornamental plant growing and health care recently shared ideas and insights during a unique educational opportunity at Tobyhanna Army Depot.

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - U.S. Army Maj. (Ret) Will Lyles was presented with a service dog during a ceremony here July 24. The Marine Cares Foundation presented 'Spartan' to Lyles during a banquet that followed the organization's 8th annual Lance Cpl. Christopher Cosgrove Memorial golf outing. Lyles lost both of his legs, sustained multiple wounds and burns after stepping on an IED during a deployment to Afghanistan. Cosgrove was assigned to Picatinny Arsenal's Marine Corps Reserve unit, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Corps Regiment. Cosgrove was killed in October 2006 by a suicide car bomber at an entry control point in Fallujah, Iraq.

His jump rope whizzed loudly as it cut through the air, accompanied by the quick "snap, snap, snap!" each time it met the ground. Fading into a barely visible blur, the rope whizzed faster and louder as he picked up the tempo, skillfully keeping the quick rhythm with his feet.
"I don't go anywhere to lose," said Spc. John Hunt. "Never."
That mindset has helped Hunt earn an opportunity to compete at the All-Army boxing trials Sept. 25 at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. The slender-built ordnance specialist, assigned to A Company, 426th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, will report to the boxing trial camp Aug. 17 to train with other hopeful Soldier athletes.

Fort Huachuca, Arizona - The Army began awarding Army Instructor Badges this summer to bolster the standing of the NCO instructors who teach the courses in the Noncommissioned Officer Education System, according to Liston Bailey, chief of the Institute for Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Learning Innovations and Initiatives Division, in the May 6 edition of the NCO Journal.

Briyanna Martinez clutches her brand-new backpack with unmatched delight as she patiently waits on the Operation Homefront Tennessee/Kentucky office lawn on Hedgerow Court, July 31.
"It's pretty," said the 5 year old who entered kindergarten on post this week at Lincoln Elementary.
Briyanna was one of 1,000 military children within the local area to receive a backpack stuffed with free school supplies from the nonprofit program, which partnered again this year with Dollar Tree to provide back-to-school gear for the children of privates through staff sergeants, as well as Wounded Warriors. The program, known as the Back-to-School Brigade, is now in its eighth year nationwide.

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - "As recently as March of this year the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS) was staffed at 42 percent of its authorized strength," according to its director, Craig Cugini.

The Department of the Army has come out with new vetting requirements for individuals requesting access to military installations. Effective Aug. 15, visitors to Fort Campbell will no longer be granted access to the installation based on the scanning of their driver's license and will be required to adhere to new procedures.

Fort Huachuca, Arizona - The Main Post Chapel hosted the 239th Chaplain Corps Anniversary Aug. 1 with a ceremony in the sanctuary, a tour through the building and lunch in the activity room. Around 70 Soldiers, Civilians and Family members attended the fellowship event to learn more about the history and roles of Army chaplains and chaplain assistants.

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- No matter how the Army's restructuring program evolves in the years to come, there is one aviation program that is sure to continue its upward climb among Army combatant commanders and their Soldiers.

Five Soldiers with the 165th Infantry Brigade, participated in a military-to-military training engagement program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which focused on military law, military medicine and basic military tactical intelligence.

The Army Public Health Command on July 31 released a report showing positive West Nile Virus (WNV) detections located in two military mosquito-trapping sites on the Fort McNair portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, which constitutes the first discovery of the virus on the installation in 2014.

A diverse collection of foliage representing American history is congregated along Arlington National Cemetery's Wilson and Farragut Drives. What continues to grow in multiple sections of the cemetery in the Kearny Monument area is a living history book of botany.

After undergoing major renovations in 2011, Building 249 on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall has been awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School on Fort Leonard Wood has received their re-accreditation through the International Fire Services Accreditation Congress in accordance to the 2013 National Fire Protection Association standards.

More than 75 agencies and organizations from Fort Jackson and the surrounding area took part in the annual Jackson Jubilee Aug. 1, 2014, at the Solomon Center. The community information event was designed to help Soldiers, employees and their families learn about the services available on and off post.